Page 4 of Heathen

I pull in a deep breath, fighting the urge to get out of my car and knock on the door they entered.

Deciding that it's none of my business, that the women from earlier could've walked through the front door of the grocery store and right out the back if they were in danger, I pull away and drive home.

Chapter 3

Heathen

"Did you see the hot tub?" I ask, finding myself incapable of wiping the smile off my face.

"Which one?" Rooster asks, his smile just as wide.

"What?" I snap. "There's more than one?"

"Two," he answers, holding up the same count of fingers. "And the pool is not only heated for the winter months, but it also has a cooling system when the summers get really hot."

"We're not here for the pool and hot tub," Bandera snaps.

I curl my upper lip in his direction. "Don't be such a buzzkill."

"It's kind of awesome that we get to live in a place like this," Twisted adds.

"Don't forget why we're here," Bandera says, making it sound like a warning to all of us.

"I could never fucking forget," Twisted says with a snarl, his chest expanding as if he's on the verge of losing his shit on Bandera.

I don't have a clue what Twisted has been through, but I wouldn't want to find myself on his bad side when he decides to work that pain and aggression out.

"Should we hit the town together?" I ask, hoping to distract the two men who are glaring at each other as if they could come to blows any second.

"We're working alone, so we shouldn't start our time here by being seen in a big group," Bandera says, taking a second longer to scowl at Twisted before turning his eyes to me.

"It's a big city filled with tourists," Rooster offers. "I doubt anyone you run into tonight will be someone you see again."

"If that's the case, then we aren't utilizing our time correctly," Bandera argues. "I'm hitting the strip."

"Which part?" I ask.

"Starting at the bottom and working my way up until I find something worth focusing on," he says as he walks out of the room.

"That guy's a total asshole," Twisted snaps. "Later."

Both Rooster and I are left in the massive living room, staring toward the front door.

"I get the feeling this place isn't going to be anything like New Mexico," I mutter.

"Agreed," Rooster replies. "There's no one here to keep any of them in line."

"What are your plans?"

Rooster pulls in a deep breath. "I still have to get my system up and running. After that, I'll have no less than two hours of diagnostics. I have a call scheduled with Max at midnight."

"Why not do that tomorrow?"

"Because I need to be operational in case someone finds something. I know they said we could reach out to either Casper in Tennessee or Max in New Mexico, but I'd like to pull my own weight sooner rather than later," he explains.

"Sounds good," I say as I spin in a circle, looking around the elegant room once again.

"That leaves you with the shopping," Rooster says, smacking my chest.

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